In a blue county in a red state that has only 10 electoral votes of 270 needed to win the presidency, Tucson voters can have far more impact on national politics when it comes to Congressional races.

The race in the 7th Congressional District is essentially a foregone conclusion considering the weak opposition to Democrat Raúl Grijalva’s bid for a fourth term.

But voters in Congressional District 8 face a difficult choice between Democrat Gabrielle Giffords’ first re-election bid and Republican Tim Bee, who was president of the state Senate the last two years. Both have admirable records. More importantly, neither is prone to the partisan politics that has stymied Washington decision-making.

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It was easier two years ago when the best reason to vote for Giffords was that she was running against a Republican candidate who exemplified the worst in partisan politics. Giffords said she wouldn’t be a part of that and she hasn’t been. For his part, Bee worked across party lines in the Legislature.

With two candidates this good, how does a voter choose? We found a difference on the economy. Giffords voted for the $700 billion bailout plan (plus earmarks) and is now campaigning that she will work to seek out and punish those responsible. As a freshman that’s easy to say. She wasn’t responsible but we’ll see how far she gets when the search gets too close to those in power, including members of her own party. Bee says he would have voted against the bailout.

We share Bee’s view on that point and support his bid for election to Congress.

Voting for president

Let’s face it, neither one of the two major party candidates for president is going to fix the economic mess this country is facing. There are other issues, such as that pesky war in Iraq, but the economy is top of mind right now.

The president’s main job in such matters is setting a tone for confidence, something this country has lost in its leadership of late.

It’s more difficult to judge Barack Obama, who has been on a fast-track of ascendancy in the Democratic party. Lacking tenure, Obama is free to say he wouldn’t have supported what have proven to be failed efforts because he wasn’t faced with the decision in the first place. That’s a troublesome area for Obama who could turn out to be another Jimmy Carter if elected. It’s a potentially crippling prospect if Obama is at all beholden to the party leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who are incapable of getting much of anything accomplished.

Arizonans have four times elected John McCain as United States senator. He earned a reputation as a maverick challenging Republican party leadership and being willing to deal with Democrats when he felt it appropriate such as on immigration reform. He authored legislation for campaign finance reform and argued against pork-barrel spending and reduced federal budgets.

Unfortunately, McCain doesn’t wear that maverick label so well since winning the Republican nomination and aligning himself with a conservative movement that has strayed too far into social issues that were not conservative principles espoused by the likes of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.

But McCain was among the earliest to sound warnings about the direction the financial industry was taking. We believe his administration would institute the necessary changes for oversight while maintaining a free-market economy.

With reservations, we endorse John McCain for president in the hope that once he gets in office we get back to the independent and inspirational McCain Arizonans first sent to Washington.